Teen

The book is about "A Man, A Dog, and Their Incredible True Story of Friendship and Survival in WWII." The smarts and instincts of the dog, Judy, are amazing given the circumstances she was in. If you enjoy WWII books and/or dog stories, this is a book worth reading. The book is well written and is a quick read.

This is a great book for any action-seeking reader. This book follows Chase Harcourt as she flies a new fighter jet, the “Streaker.” On top of learning to save the world, Chase deals with the same problems of any other teenage girl. Tristan, another teen learning to fly the “Streaker,” creates plenty of boy drama in Chase’s life. Some past family issues also come back to haunt Chase but she learns to put everything behind her in order to save her country.

I loved this book because the plot was completely unique to any other dystopian novels I’ve read and kept me interested the whole way through! I’d recommend this book to anybody who's at least 14 years old. This book would be great for someone who wants something new and exciting to read!

Yuri, a 17-year-old physics prodigy from Russia, is on his way to America to help save California from a big bad asteroid—a very big, very bad asteroid that could take out Japan with a tsunami. His knowledge of English is very good but he doesn’t know how to swear in English. Many of the much older physicists don’t believe this kid has any knowledge that can help this very serious situation. Yuri meets Dovie, a normal teenage girl and he learns what it’s really like to be a teenager. You will laugh out loud, cry a bit, and cheer on this pair of teens that could, might, maybe save the world.

An extra bit of knowledge: Ms. Kennedy is from the U.P. of Michigan and this is her first novel. I am hoping for many more.

This is the first book in one of my favorite trilogies, Chaos Walking. This futuristic adventure book follows Todd, a teenager that lives in Prentisstown, as he struggles to uncover secrets that have been kept for years. Todd’s search becomes even harder because he has to deal with the Noise. The Noise that allows everyone around him to read his thoughts. The Noise that makes secrets very hard to keep. The Chaos Walking books kept me on the edge of my seat and I'd recommend them to anyone 13 or older!

I enjoyed reading this fast-paced graphic novel for kids. A city is called “The Nameless City” because it has been taken over and renamed by so many groups over the years it’s hard to keep track of its name. The current government will soon have held it for 40 years and there are a few different ideas for what the next steps should be. While some want to grow a stronger army, one official has the idea to share the city amongst the feuding countries. The story unfolded without giving me all the details so I’m anxious to read the second book when it comes out.

I appreciated the ambiguity of the culture, location, timeframe, etc., so the focus was on the main character and the plot. I think it could have been a little longer to have more time to explore the main character’s familial relationships, but lack of this made his newfound relationship with a girl who grew up in the city more believable.

When misfit Lola finds work cleaning out the library basement, she becomes intrigued with a 1924 yearbook for the local high school. When she falls asleep, she is transported to the high school dance where she meets a nice boy. She then time travels back and forth, confusing everyone including Peter. So is it all a hallucination or is she really mentally ill like her mother was?

This is a fascinating fantasy with lots of twists and turns that really hold the reader's interest.

I read this young adult book on my iPad using Overdrive. The book is about a 15-year-old boy, Travis Coates, who dies of leukemia. His head is cryogenically preserved in anticipation that, one day, medical science will progress to the point where he will be given a new body. Much to everyone’s surprise, technology progresses much more rapidly than anticipated and he is brought back to life only five years after his passing.

Okay, sounds all sci-fi and what-not, but really this book is more about how Travis copes with the fact that his best friend and his girlfriend are suddenly five years older than him, have gone on with their lives while he “slept,” and how disorienting it is to go to sleep, wake up, and have the world pass you by.

It’s told completely from Travis’ point of view and is both funny and sad. I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed reading this book and how much I sympathized with Travis’ situation. It was a sweet story. Good for young adults and older teens.

I have middle school boys. The pressure to conform is enormous. We used to live in a subdivision that had a list of approved house colors and pages of rules regarding when and where you could do things. The rules are written and unwritten, but make no mistake--we are surrounded by the message to conform.

In Spinelli’s book, Stargirl arrives at the high school and seems unaware that there even are these expectations of conformity. What freedom! It becomes contagious within the school until a line is crossed.

This is a wonderful story that will challenge every reader to be just a little bit truer to the self they are when they first wake up.

Set in a society separated by the color of blood (silver or red), Mare Barrow rattles the way of life for everyone when she is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. Mare’s newfound abilities land her a spot in a castle full of secrets and in the perfect place to start a revolution. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard will capture the attention of any reader that also fell in love with The Hunger Games or Divergent trilogies. This book held my attention the entire time with its perfect balance of action and romance. Mare’s story is very easy to relate to and I think will inspire any reader to discover who they are and find the power within themselves to do the impossible. The second book in the series is already out and a third will be coming as well! I would recommend this book for anyone in 6th grade and up. Red Queen has definitely made my top ten favorite books!